Call of Duty Elite Beta Now Available for PS3 Users

While Xbox 360 users have enjoyed the beta for two months now, PS3 users can now take part in the Call of Duty Elite beta. Starting today, the service will be "activated in stages" and offers a premium membership as well.

Call of Duty Elite Beta is finally available for the PS3. While the Xbox 360 beta program started two months ago, Activision announced on Monday that the beta is available for Sony's Playstation 3 platform as well.

"Beta testers can take their current Call of Duty multiplayer experience to the next level by jumping into the Beta version of the Call of Duty Elite service, as beta access will start to be activated in stages, with limited invitations rolling out effective today," explains Activision's press release. The beta right now is limited to Call of Duty: Black Ops but will "upgrade" the full feature list when Modern Warfare 3 hits stores on November 8.

Of course, while most of the beta's features are free, if you're a truly hardcore Call of Duty fan, then Activision would also be happy to sell you a premium subscription as well. For $50 a year, premium members get you exclusive clan benefits, MW3 downloadable content (including all the maps and "20 pieces of new in-game content"), early access and a lot of other goodies.

The question that remains is whether or not PS3 premium members can cut in line ahead of regular PS3 users and unlock more of the "stages" of the beta before their non-premium cousins. We've called Activision to see if PS3 premium members have to deal with the Xbox exclusivity period as well, but they haven't responded as of press time. We'll keep you updated as soon as we know.

Until then, if you're interested in joining the ranks of Call of Duty's beta testers, you can sign up at www.callofduty.com/elite.